Latina Herring: Florida Woman Fatally Shot, Family Wounded By AK-47 Wielding Boyfriend, Police Say

On March 26, 2017, police say Allen D. Cashe opened fire on 35-year-old Latina Herring outside a Sanford, Florida gas station, killing her, and wounding her father and her boys, ages 7 and 8.

Latina Herring had been arguing with her boyfriend in Sanford, Florida for most of the evening. But this time, it was different. Police officers tried to sort through the situation, but tensions were just too high.

On March 26, 2017, police say Allen D. Cashe opened fire on Herring, killing her, and wounding her father and her boys, ages 7 and 8.

Police called the shootings "horrific." Cashe was arrested close to 7 a.m., three hours after police were called and left the scene. They were called again about 40 minutes later after a witness reported seeing a woman being assaulted on the roadway. Another call came in saying that a man had a gun.

Police said that Cashe used an AK-47 in the attack.

"I can't stress enough that this scene is one of the worst that our officers and investigators have ever responded to," Sanford spokeswoman Bianca Gillett told reporters. "It's horrific."

The wounded boys were identified as Brendan and Branden Christian.Their grandfather, Bertis Gerard Herring Jr., 56, was hospitalized in critical condition.

"Excessive amount of blood everywhere," neighbor Arlene Bush was quoted as saying. "I can't even believe (the grandfather) made it out of the house as bad as he was."

Critics have blamed police for the shooting, saying that an arrest should have been made when they came out the first time.

"There is no way for us to predict what was going to take place. We did everything that we believe was possible. We searched him, we searched his vehicle, we searched his surroundings around him as well and no firearm was found," Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said.